1. Technical Field
The method and apparatus of this invention relate generally to an apparatus and method for trimming a curved or nonlinear portion of unwanted material from the meat product. More specifically, it relates to an apparatus and method of automatically feeding a meat product to an automatic skinning or de-rinding machine for trimming portions from a meat product which is of a generally rounded shape such as butts (beef, pork, sirloin, etc.) short ribs, beef loins and the like. Meat "muscles" or "products" as used herein are meant to refer broadly to beef, pork, poultry, fish and the like. Materials to be trimmed may be fat, membranes, skin, connective tissue, gristle, bone, or the like. Machines for accomplishing such tasks are referred to in the art as skinning, trimming, or de-rinding machines.
Currently, extended, rounded meat products must usually be trimmed by hand or using automatic feed machines utilizing "straight" blades. While hand trimming can be quite accurate, it creates the possibility of serious injury to the hands. Additionally, there is a large reduction in efficiency and production capacity due to the time required to perform the numerous hand strokes required. Alternatively, trimming using a straight blade, while somewhat faster and safer than trimming by hand, also has large inefficiencies. These are primarily due to the tangential cutting resulting from using a straight blade on a rounded product. Consequently, it is highly desirable to automate the process of trimming extended or rounded meat products, such automation leads to enhanced ergonomics, increased safety, yield, and production.
The present invention is adapted to be used on automatic meat trimmers of the type described generally in our U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,323 which is herein incorporated by reference, or any of a wide variety of automatic trimming machines. Specific examples of such machines are the Maja GEA421, SBA420, and ESB441 series machines. However, the invention's use is not limited to these machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art devices for automatically trimming unwanted portions from meat products are well known in the art. However, these devices generally employ a "straight" trimming blade. Consequently, they work best with meat products which are generally flat. Use of these machines with rounded may have the undesirable characteristic of trimming off only a portion of the fat, or perhaps worse, trimming too deeply and trimming off a portion of the meat itself.
Consequently, the trimming of an unwanted portion from a generally rounded product such as, but not limited to, butts, beef loins, top butts, short ribs, hams and the like, had to be accomplished by hand either using a knife or a manual membrane skinning machine. These methods are extremely dangerous and or time-consuming.
Townsend, U.S. Pat. No. 2,715,427, discloses a fatting attachment for a skinning machine adapted to remove fat from a ham. Townsend's invention includes a blade which may be angled at one end so as to trim a linearly increasing amount of fat from the ham. The amount of fat to be trimmed varies linearly along the length of the blade beginning at one value at one end and increasing gradually and continuously throughout the remainder of the blade. There is no disclosure in the Townsend patent of a blade which may be varied in curvature in a non-linear fashion throughout its width.
Consequently, there is a great need for an apparatus which is capable of automatically skinning these generally rounded, irregularly shaped types of meat products.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of automatically trimming irregular or rounded shaped products efficiently and with minimum risk to operator safety.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of efficiently and automatically removing unwanted material such as fat, membranes and the like from rounded, irregularly shaped meat products. Such products might include, but are not limited to, butts, beef loins, top butts, short ribs, hams and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bent blade holder which is capable of trimming a variety of different sizes and types of meat products.
Another object is to provide an apparatus which will accommodate a variety of blade shapes.
Another object is to provide an apparatus which can accommodate a variety of blade types.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which is capable of trimming on slicing meat products of a variety of consistencies and temperatures.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which is capable of automatic position adjustment to accommodate meat products of irregular shape.